


Returning to Self

by NiefThing



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hospitals, Inappropriate Erections, M/M, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22307344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiefThing/pseuds/NiefThing
Summary: Ed has restored Al to himself, but now they have to recover.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric/Edward Elric
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	Returning to Self

**Author's Note:**

> Is this a complete and utter cliché? Yep. Did I write it anyways? Absolutely. I tried to focus more on the recovery aspect of restoration, just ‘cause we got none of that in either of the animes. But other than that, just fluff, genuine, feel-good fluff, enough to cause a cavity or ten. Stream-of-consciousy. Enjoy!

A hospital bed was probably not the most romantic place to watch your lover sleep, but for Edward, right now, it was perfect.

Because it was dark and quiet, both inside and out, and the moon was shining through the window, her pale fingers caressing Al’s cheek the way Ed would have if he could bring himself to let go of his hand. This was all too new, too sweet, too wonderful to last, and, even if Edward hadn’t let go of his brother since the light of the array had faded and Al had been restored to himself, he was still terrified that if he moved, if he blinked, if he even breathed, Al would shatter into a million fragments and Ed would wake up alone.

So he sat very still in the moonlight and just watched Al breathe. Dreamily, he slowly leaned forward until his chin rested on the bed, pressing their still joined hands against his forehead. He doesn’t even notice when his eyes drift shut and he falls asleep.

“Brother?”

Edward’s eyes opened slowly. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep, but definitely had a crick in his neck from the awkward angle and lack of a pillow. As he raised his head, it made a painful sounding crack. Al’s eyes widened at the sound. Their hands were still joined.

“It didn’t hurt,” Ed promised, whispering, “What is it?”

Al smiled at him, and Ed’s heart leapt into his throat, “My arm is cold.”

“Oh…” Ed looked down at their hands, then back up into Al’s face. He tried for a mischievous smile, but knows it is tempered by love as he stands, shifts onto the bed, and cuddles under the covers beside his precious little brother, Al nestled comfortably against his chest. Their position is made slightly awkward by their still-clasped hands, but they’re both too tired to care.

\-----------------

Two days later, Edward opened the door to his baby brother’s hospital room, and was greeted with an alarming sight. Al had one foot hanging off the bed, nearly to the floor, one hand gripping the bedframe to steady himself, obviously trying to stand up on his own. Ed was so shocked, he momentarily forgot to be angry.

And then that moment was over.

“Al, what the HELL are you--” 

“Wait!” Al was flushed with embarrassment, but his voice was loud enough to catch Ed off guard, “I can explain, just… stay there.”

Ed looked suspicious, but stayed where he was. His heart thumped painfully as Al gingerly lowered his feet to the floor, wincing at the cool tile on his bare toes, and drew himself up to stand.

“Stay there, Brother,” Al smiled at him around the strain of holding himself upright, “I’ll come to you.”

Ed stayed silent as Al began a very slow shuffle towards the door and him, heart pounding with worry, ready to swoop out and catch Al if he even stumbled. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to relax. “What is this about anyways? Are you getting restless?”

“I need to get used to doing things myself. You won’t always be around to baby me.”

“Yes I will.” 

Al stopped his shuffle for a moment and sighed, “Edward…”

“I mean it, Al.”

“I know you do,” Al said after a pause, “But that’s just for right now. What about when you find someone else, someone you want to spend time with without me in the way?”

“That’ll never happen,” Ed’s eyes were intense, but any tension dissipated as he looked away. “Didn’t we talk about this?”

“We did, but—ah!” he’d been standing still for too long, and Al tilted dangerously. Ed was there in two strides, grabbing Al’s shoulders and setting him upright before gently tilting Al’s face to look into his own. Al looked into Ed’s eyes, and was stunned by the sincerity in his gaze. With one final lurch forward, he was in Ed’s arms, being held by the most loving warmth in the world.

“Is it really ok?” he asked weakly, burying his face in Ed’s neck, “What we have, I mean. Are you still ok with it now that I’m—now that I’m not— “

Edward nudged Al’s head up and cupped his cheek softly. He leaned his head forward, resting their foreheads together. “Now that you’re back, I will never let you go.” And Al could see in his eyes that he meant it.

They might have kissed right there, right then, but Al’s knees gave out, and suddenly Ed was trying to keep them both from tumbling to the floor, but Al was laughing and everything was ok.

\-----------------

Despite the unusual situation in which he found himself, Alphonse was certainly an Elric, and thus was as resilient (read: stubborn) as they come, and pushed himself to recover as fast as possible, much to the chagrin of Edward, who spent an inordinate amount of time fussing over the bumps and scrapes and bruises that resulted from Al’s unsupervised excursions. 

Which was why, after only two weeks and a little bureaucratic nudging by Mustang, the Elric brothers were discharged from the hospital and left to continue their recovery in a small apartment just off the base. 

Unfortunately for poor Alphonse, Edward was much more staunchly overbearing than even the strictest hospital matron. Ed refused to let him lift anything he deemed too heavy, wouldn’t let him leave the house unaccompanied, and didn’t even seem to want to let him walk around the house on his own, even though he was more than capable so long as he didn’t get tired. Even a bedtime was enforced, which Al protested greatly (“I’m not a baby, Brother!”), but after some negotiation, the bedtime was placed at 7:30, a compromise between Ed’s proposed 7:00 and Al’s 8:00.

Which was not to say that Alphonse did not do everything in his power to keep Edward from putting him to bed on time.

“But Brother—! “

“For the last time, Alphonse, no,” Edward interrupted as he all but dragged his stubbornly resisting little brother into their shared bedroom. It was already after eight, because Al had hidden in the linen closet and barricaded the door, forcing Edward to dig through piles of old-woman scented towels to get him out. After that little adventure, he was not at all inclined to let Al stay up any later. 

“Brother— “

“No,” Ed said firmly, pushing a struggling Al back onto the bed, “Put your arms up.”

Al pouted, but did as he was told, allowing Edward to pull his shirt over his head, leaving his top half bare as Ed rummaged through the drawers for a nightshirt. This was a ritual they had done every morning and night since Al’s restoration, and although Al was well enough to dress himself, neither was willing to give up the habit. 

Al giggled, “If you wanted to see me naked, you could have just asked.”

Ed looked up sharply, shocked, but fell prey to Al’s infectious smile and began to giggle himself. “Idiot,” he murmured affectionately, leaning forward to kiss Al’s cheek before putting his shirt over his head, “You need to go to bed before you make any more smart remarks.” He was doing his best to ignore the butterflies that had appeared in his stomach after Al spoke.

When Al got his body back, and realized he was touch starved, they had nonetheless agreed to take things slow. They hadn’t gotten any farther than small, but very unbrotherly, acts of intimacy: draping arms around shoulders, bumping foreheads, cuddling on the couch, hugs that lingered just a moment too long, but nothing more. They still slept in separate beds (usually), and they hadn’t even had a proper kiss. Of course, Ed wanted to go farther, but he was absolutely terrified of pushing Al too far too fast. But that didn’t stop the fantasizing. Al didn’t mean to be a tease, but it was so hard to go slow when he acted so damn adorable.

Ed shook himself out of his thought as he pulled back the covers for Al to shimmy under. This was innocent, he told himself firmly, just a snarky little comment between lovers, nothing more. He tucked the covers under Al’s chin and stood up to leave when Al tugged on his sleeve.

“Brother, I—I mean, if you wouldn’t mind, could you, uh…” Al trailed off, blushing brightly, then blurted, “I’m just going to get back up again if you leave!”

A beat of silence. Ed’s eyes widened, then he smirked, customary sureness returning as he caught on to what Al must want. “Then I guess I’ll have to stay here and keep you from doing that.”

It was Al’s turn to look shocked, but he was laughing as Edward stripped to his boxers and clambered into bed next to him, wrapping his arms around Al’s waist and pulling him close. They settled in, comfortably close, Al’s head under Ed’s chin. A blanket of peace draped over them both.

“I love you,” Al murmured into his throat. Ed’s breath hitched.

“I love you too,” he murmured back, and they were already so close, it was too easy to close the gap between their lips, and the world was perfect.

\-----------------

 _Al’s shirt was up around his armpits, leaving the smooth skin of his stomach exposed to the air and Ed’s heated stare. One metal hand rubbed slowly at the planes of Al’s chest, slowly working down, prompting a breathless cry from the boy beneath him._

__

_“Brother…” Al cooed, voice breathy and soft. Ed grinned, an almost feral light in his eyes as they raked down Al’s supple form to the tent in his boxers. A tentative flesh hand reached out and gently rubbed at that tent. Al inhaled sharply and nearly bucked into that hand._

_“Brother…”_

_Oh yes, he could get used to those sounds._

_“Brother…” slightly more insistent._

_So cute…_

“Brother!”

Ed’s eyes snapped open and met Al’s own, which were wide with alarm. “Whassit?” he slurred, head still fuzzy with sleep.

“What is that?” Al gestured vaguely to something under the blanket, his voice panicky.

“Wha…?” Ed trailed off intelligently. He was vaguely aware of some drool drying on his chin.

“I just woke up and that thing was poking me!”

Ed could only stare stupidly. Poking…What could Al be talking about? Unless… oh no. A quick peek under the covers confirmed his suspicions. “I’m sorry,” he hissed, shifting his hips away from Al.

“What is it?”

“It’s the morning, Al.”

“The morning--oh,” Al’s face turned red as he realized exactly what was in his brother’s pants, “That’s what—oh.”

“Yeah,” Ed grumped, “Oh.”

An awkward silence stretched out between them and threatened to go on forever until Al began to laugh explosively.

Edward was utterly shocked. Here he was, lying in bed with Al the night after their first real kiss, he had a boner for god’s sake, and Al had the nerve to laugh. It was almost insulting. “What’s so funny?” 

“I don’t know!” Al gasped out between laughs, “Just— the idea of you—” Here he had to stop as he was once again consumed by gales of laughter.

“It’s not funny!” Ed cried.

“It is!”

Ed rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile as he watched Al laugh himself down from his high. It had been far too long since he last heard that laugh without the echo of hollow armor.

Al hadn’t even stopped laughing when he leaned over and gave Al a soft kiss, effectively quieting him. “Good morning, goofball,” he murmured, mouths still pressed together.

“Mmm,” Al murmured back, eyes closed in contentment, “Good morning. But…” he yawned, “I don’t want to get up yet. Can we stay and cuddle here for a while?”

Ed yawned back, “Might as well. It’s too early to be awake.”

The little clock on the bedside table reads 10:30 as two brothers-turned-lovers lay back down to sleep.


End file.
